Parental Leave Documents

Handle a parental leave request with the Parental Leave Policy to set out the rules, then the Parental Leave Request Letter so the employee notifies you in writing. After considering the request, use either the Confirmation of Parental Leave (Without Meeting) or the Confirmation of Parental Leave (Post Meeting), depending on whether you held a meeting. If you need to delay the leave, use the Postponement of Parental Leave Letter.

No. From 6 April 2026, unpaid parental leave became a day-one right under the Employment Rights Act 2025. Employees no longer need any qualifying service period. The entitlement is 18 weeks' unpaid leave per child, to be taken before the child's 18th birthday, with a cap of 4 weeks per child per year unless you agree more. Note that parental leave is unpaid unless your contract or policy says otherwise. A written Parental Leave Policy helps make these terms clear to all staff from the start.

You cannot refuse parental leave entirely if the employee is eligible and has given 21 days' notice, but you can postpone it by up to six months where the absence would unduly disrupt the business. You must write to the employee within seven days of their notice, give a reason and offer dates of the same duration falling no later than six months after the date originally requested and before the child's 18th birthday. You cannot postpone leave a second time. The Simply-Docs Postponement of Parental Leave Letter provides a compliant template for this step.

If the employee is ineligible, you must inform them in writing, clearly stating the reason, as an unjustified refusal can lead to an employment tribunal claim. Check first against the statutory criteria: they must be an employee (not a worker or self-employed person), must have or expect parental responsibility for a child under 18 and must have given at least 21 days' notice. The Simply-Docs Letter Advising Employee is Ineligible for Parental Leave provides a ready-made template.

A bereaved parent has a day-one right to two weeks' parental bereavement leave where a child under 18 dies or a stillbirth occurs after 24 weeks of pregnancy. It must be taken within 56 weeks, as one two-week block, two separate one-week blocks or a single week, and Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay may be payable if earnings and service conditions are met. Separately, from 6 April 2026, a bereaved partner whose child's primary carer dies within the child's first year gains a new day-one right to up to 52 weeks' unpaid bereaved partner's paternity leave. The Simply-Docs Parental Bereavement Leave Policy in this sub-folder helps you set out your approach.

Ordinary (unpaid) parental leave is a flexible entitlement of up to 18 weeks per child for any parent with parental responsibility, taken any time before the child turns 18. It differs from paternity leave (for fathers and partners around birth or adoption), shared parental leave (dividing maternity or adoption leave between parents) and parental bereavement leave (the two-week entitlement following the death of a child). Each has its own eligibility rules, notice requirements and documentation. This sub-folder covers ordinary parental leave and parental bereavement leave; related sibling sub-folders cover paternity and shared parental leave documents.